by Harleen Kaur Dhillon
Films made by female directors are few and far between. The Zonta Film Festival (ZFF) provides a platform for Canadian female filmmakers to showcase their art and passion to the community.
From Nov. 8 to Nov. 10, the Princess Twin Cinemas will host the eighth annual Zonta Film Festival (ZFF), beginning with a reception on Nov. 8 at 5 p.m., followed by a screening of four films. The ZFF is hosted by the Zonta Club of Kitchener-Waterloo, an advocacy group aimed at improving the lives of women worldwide.
Fittingly, the movies presented hold similar themes of empowerment, gender roles, and social barriers. The four movies shown on Nov. 8 will include: A Better Man, a story of an abuser facing the woman he abused; The Big Flip, a movie where men and women’s gender roles are switched; Afghan Cycles, a story of women fighting cultural and gender barriers by riding bicycles; and The Song and the Sorrow, the story of Catherine MacLellan coming to terms with the suicide of her father, singer-songwriter Gene MacLellan.
Other movies that will be shown over the course of the festival include: The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, What is Democracy, Half the Picture, and In the Name of Your Daughter, among others.
There will be an opportunity to attend a luncheon with the directors, that will be held at Proof Kitchen and Lounge in the Delta Hotel for $50 a seat.
Each film can be viewed for $15 and festival passes are available for $65.
The Zonta Club was chartered in Boston in 1978, and aims, “to improve the quality of life for women through fundraising, charitable giving and by recognizing outstanding community members through scholarships and awards. [They] also help charitable and not-for-profit organizations with service grants,” it said onthe official Zonta KW website.
The ZFF exclusively features films made by female filmmakers and all proceeds are donated to local charities and non-profit organizations. In 2017, the ZFF was able to donate over $20,000 to the community.
For more information about the festival, or to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.zontakw.org/.
